Monday, December 7, 2015

Good morning Y'all!!! It is a bright sunshiny day this morning and I am loving it. Hope y'all are too. Got to get busy here in a little bit, but I wanted to share a bit with y'all today before I do get busy. We had Christmas caroling last night at church and it was fun. We split up into four groups and went to four different nursing facilities. We had an awesome time and all the people enjoyed it. It was a blessing for them and us.

A couple of weeks or so ago I took on a mini craft project for my craft room. I wanted to share that with y'all. I took a few pics of what I made and what hubby got me for early Christmas present.

I ordered a couple of those four tiered whirly thingies from Harbor Freight. One of my friends on Google+ was telling some of us about it and I knew I needed to have some. So, thanks +Penny Duncan , I am sure the stock for HF just went up a bit. hahaha They hold tons of stuff and it's all at your finger tips. Yay!!!

Next, I took a couple of small boxes and cut the flaps off them and covered them with zebra contact vinyl. Love that stuff. Then I took paper towel rolls and cut them in half and covered just the first inch or so , inside and out, with the contact vinyl and then glued them inside the boxes to store tools and pens and markers and stuff in.

You have to put the whirlie thingies together, but it's not hard, just time consuming.

This is what it look like down in the boxes. I really like them a lot. I believe it was +Sylvia Tabor over in the Google Kraafters Kommunity who showed us how to make these holders with empty paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls.

Here, you can see the tall ink pad storage. I used a couple of boxes that I get peanut butter crackers in at Walmart. I get those to put in hubby's lunch box for work and they are perfect for ink pad storage. I took pizza boxes and cut them down to size and made shelves and I can get 19 ink pads in each one. I will get a couple more of those made in the future. This really cleaned up a big big mess on my work desk. I am so thrilled about that.

My Christmas Tree

What if I asked you to decorate a Christmas Tree and put only things on it that would describe you, your relationship with Jesus and your relationship with others. Could you do it? Would you do it? I was sitting in church service Sunday morning and as the Pastor spoke, I was concentrating on his sermon and all the time I kept getting this mental picture. Do any of y'all ever get that mental picture that you just can't get out of your head? I do. Sometimes mine is an all out comedy skit of something that he is preaching on. Yeah, I know, only I could find the humor in some of the things that he preaches on and, by the way, every bit of it is scriptural. I just have say that I know God has a very good sense of humor, because He gave me a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. So, I can actually blame it on Him, right. Anyway, as he was speaking, I kept seeing a Christmas Tree in my mind. I finally just had to ask God what that was. Well, it was a Christmas Tree that was decorated with things that represented my relationship with Jesus and the people in my life. I didn't get a really clear image of it though. I was so intrigued by the idea that I thought I would try to mentally decorate a Christmas Tree for y'all and describe it as I go.

So, first off it would have to be a Cedar Tree. A Cedar tree never looses it branches and it stays green all the time. It will grow in places that a lot of other trees can't. It has a smell that only the cedar tree has. I love the smell of cedar. As a small child, I would pick up cedar shavings and smell them. I would actually rub them on my nose and sleep with them and get them tangled in my hair. Anyway, that's what we always had growing up and I remember all the fun I had when I got to help decorate it. Sometimes, I would get to decorate it more than once if it fell over. hehehe Redecorating is not as fun as it was to decorate it the first time. So, Cedar Tree it is.

Next I would put lots of colored lights on it. I do love the clear lights, but I am a colorful person and I love lots of color, so colored lights it is. God didn't say anything about colored lights or clear, He just said to let our light shine for others to see. And we are not to put our light under a bushel, but to have it out and shining bright. So, I do believe a lot of colored lights on my tree would be seen. So, colored lights, it is.

Next, for garland, I might string some popcorn and put that on my tree. Most everyone likes or loves popcorn. It does smell wonderful when it's popping. What is the first thing you smell when you go to the movie theater? Yeah, popcorn. The smell of it is inviting and pleasing. Have you every thought about popcorn? It takes a lot of heat, to make that kernel of corn transform into something that is so delicious. It has to "go thru the fire", so to speak, for it to be transformed into something that we love so much. Guess what, we have to "go thru the fire" also, to be transformed into something useful that God can use. Notice I said "go" thru the fire to be made into useful. If popcorn stays in the fire too long, it goes from delectable to detestable in just a matter of seconds. Sometimes we take our eyes off the popcorn and it burns. God will never take His eyes off us and He goes thru the fire with us. We are never alone. So, popcorn it is.

Next comes the decorations. First, I think I would want a box of crayons. They represent the big box of 64 that I had as a child. I loved those crayons and the many hours of pleasure they brought me. They also represent the fact that it's ok to color outside the lines. Our artistic skill, love and abilities come from God, so I will embrace my artistic side with the crayons. Next, I think there would be some big beautiful colorful buttons scattered about on my tree. I have always loved buttons. I learned to count with buttons. I always loved to play with buttons while Mom was sewing. Buttons are very useful. They hold stuff together. They can be plain and be useful. They can be very ornate and still be just as useful. So, a few buttons goes on my tree, just to make sure I stay buttoned up and together. Next, I would want at least eight different cookie cutters hanging on my tree. Six to represent the guys in our house; dad and five brothers. Then two to represent mom and me. Cookies was always a special treat. I would want them all to be different, because we are all different. God made all His children different, so mine would have to be different too.

Next I would want some glass ornaments. Glass ornaments of all different shapes colors and sizes. God made us in His image in all different shapes colors and sizes, but none the less, all still in His image. The glass represents how fragile we are. If not handled correctly, they shatter. So do we, when we are not handled correctly.

Next, I would have 36 small gold wedding rings hanging on my tree for all to see. Those would be as a reminder of the all the Christmases my husband and I have spent together. Representing all the good times and the bad, knowing that God was in the midst of it all. With the hopes of adding many more as each year rolls around. The circle also represents the un-ending love that God has for His children. Yes, a few gold wedding bands it is.

Next, I would want a few beautifully decorated acorns. Those remind
me of times when my husband and I have gone on acorn hunts and found
some really big acorns. I bake them in a low temp oven (to kill any insects or eggs that may be in them) for a couple
hours, and turn the oven off, leave them over night and the next day
they are ready to decorate. From a small acorn comes the mighty
oak. They grow really tall on the upside of the ground. On the
underside, where we can't see, they put down really deep roots! So,
I want to represent Jesus Christ well when you see me, but I also want
to know that I am firmly rooted in Christ. The roots are very
important when the storms of life come thru, they determine whether you
survive it. Everything above ground can be damaged, but as long as
the root system is ok, the tree can come out of it. I may be shaken,
but if I'm rooted in Christ, I can survive any storm.

Next, I think I would like to have some trumpets on my Christmas Tree. I have a few now, and when I do decorate, I love using them. I love the sound of the trumpet. Of course, I couldn't make a sound come out of one if my life depended on it. But, I do enjoy the sound of them. And I do keep my ear pealed, listening for the great trumpet blast that will take place when Jesus comes again. So, yes I will have a few trumpets. Next, I would have to have one small broken ornament on my tree. Why
that, you ask? If we are honest with ourselves and God, we are all
broken, in some way. That's what sin does, it causes brokenness, and
we can't fix it. God can and does when we come to Him with our
sin. So, that one small broken ornament would be a reminder to me,
that although it is broken, it is still loved and useful. God can use
each and every one of us, even with our brokenness, to His benefit and
glory.

Next, y'all know I love me some purple! If you don't, it's not because I haven't told ya! hahaha Yeah, I think I would have some purple scraps of fabric on my Christmas Tree. Why just scraps of fabric? I am reminded of Lydia. The lady from the Bible. She was a seller of purple cloth and she also loved the Lord. Purple is a symbol of royalty. Since I am a daughter of the Most High God, I think just a few purple scraps would do me well on my tree. Next, I think I would have to have me some pearls on my tree. Pearl is my birthstone and fittingly so. Pearls are the result of an irritation that takes place in the oyster. Think about how bad an ulcer hurts, that's about similar to the kind of irritation that produces a pearl. The Bible speaks of pearls as having great value. The gates of Heaven will be made from pearls. Each gate will be made from one large pearl. That's one large source of irritation for each pearl!!! One of my very dear friends and I have special names for each other. She is Pearl Love, because she is the epitome of Love, Gods love!!!! I am Pearl Joy. My Joy comes from the Lord. There is also scripture that says not to cast your pearls before swine. So, pearls it is.

Next I would have to have to have a ladybug on my tree. The red one, that is. Who doesn't love a ladybug. Scientists done an experiment on ladybugs a few years ago and found out they are possibly the strongest creature on earth. They can pick up over 600 times their own body weight with those little suction feet of theirs. Pretty amazing, huh! They are very strong little buggers. The ladybug would represent my mom, one of the strongest people I have ever known. That's what I call my mom sometimes too. Next, I would have to have a little sweet pea flower on my Christmas Tree. They are a small, dainty flower; everything that I ain't! hahaha The wild ones found in nature are usually purple, woohoo. They do smell good. They are considered to be a good gift. They represent "good fortune", so I say that my good fortune can be found only in what Jesus Christ has done for me. This is what my mom calls me sometimes too. So, sweet pea it is.

Next, I love to have candy canes shaped like a shepherds staff. The shepherds staff reminds me that the shepherd looks after his sheep. Shepherds were the lowest of the low, but God chose them to announce His plans to that night in the fields while watching their sheep. Wow, talk about a chosen group of men that night! The shepherds staff was a useful tool to. Sometimes he has to use his staff to get one of the sheep that may have fallen in a crevice or something like that. He can just reach out and pull a sheep back to where it belongs. But the shepherd always has his sheep's best interest at heart. The sheep knows the shepherds voice, the shepherd knows the voice of his sheep. So it is with Christ as our Shepherd, He always has our best interests at heart. Next, I think I would need a few heart shaped ornaments on my tree. The heart represents great love. We see the heart of Christ form the beginning to end of the Bible. We also have learned to love, because Christ loved us first. Sometimes it is hard for us to love as Christ loves. But He has taught us to love others, even our enemies. So, I will have a few hearts on my tree as a reminder to love others.

When I get it all decorated with all the different ornaments and items I want on my tree, there's just a couple of things left. I would take a few hands full of glitter and toss it on the tree. Why glitter? It sparkles, it shines, and it shimmers!!!! It makes you smile when you see it. If you get close enough to someones glitter, you get it on you. It's a reminder that you was with that person and enjoyed time spent with them. I can just imagine how the streets of gold are gonna glimmer, sparkle and shimmer. So glitter, it is.

Last but not least, by any means is the tree topper. My tree topper would be a Cross. The symbol of what Christ has done for me and who I am in Him. It would not have to be the finest Cross ever made. I'll gladly take a rough cut, precariously nailed cross for my tree topper. The Cross was not ever meant to be a thing of beauty. The only way the Cross becomes a symbol of beauty is when it represents the transformation that has taken place in my life as a result of the finished work of Christ on the cross. If you see someone wearing a cross, ask them what it means to them. See if it means the same thing to them that it means to you. If not, share with them what the cross represents to you. So, a Cross it is for my topper.

There you have it. A Cedar Tree, colored lights, popcorn, crayons, buttons, cookie cutters, glass ornaments, acorns, gold wedding rings, small broken ornament, trumpets, purple fabric scraps, pearls, a lady bug, a sweet pea flower, shepherd staff candy cane, hearts, glitter and a cross. These are the things that would make up my Christmas Tree to describe who I am.

What would you use to describe who you are? Think about it. When I got done putting everything down to describe my tree, then it all came into focus and this is exactly what I saw when my Pastor was preaching Sunday morning. His sermon was about what came from Bethlehem, such a small and obscure little town. How in the world I got this from his sermon, I'll never know. Other than it just being what I call a God "thang". I do have to say that I am quite pleased with my Christmas Tree. I hope you will do the same thing this Christmas season and share your Christmas Tree with those around you.

I pray everyone has an awesome day. Share Christ where ever you go, what ever you do. You won't regret it. Ladybug, I pray you have a wonderful day and hope I get to see you soon. Sweet pea loves you so much!!!!

I hope y'all will come back real soon to check out what I have been up to. Would love to hear from you too. Till next time, God loves y'all and so do I!! hugs, Patty

Friday, December 4, 2015

Good day Y'all! Did y'all have a Happy Thanksgiving? I hope and pray that the Thanksgiving season hasn't stopped for you. At church, for the month of November, we was challenged to take time every day of the month and thank God for something every day. I always do every day anyway, but it was so much more meaningful and purposeful when I do it with an attitude of gratitude. Thanking God for the things that I don't even think about as being blessings from God. Hot water, clean clothes, shoes on my feet, tooth brush, soap, dishes, a pillow, heat on a cold morning, a comb, food, a lamp.................are you thankful for any of those? There are oh so many more things that could be listed. What about the fact that you woke up this morning? Did you get out of bed? Can you walk? Can you speak? Oh, is your heart beating? What about those, are you thankful? I sure I am!!!

I am so thankful to God that He is in control!!!! No matter what takes place, we must seek God first. I don't like it when someone asks me, "What's your opinion of whats happening in the world right now?" The only opinion that matters to me, EVER, is God's opinion, about anything! God tells us in His Word that there will be troubles in the last days. My heart breaks for all the pain and hurt that has gone on and that will continue to go on as long as people have the desire to hurt and terrorize other people. I just have to know that God sees it all and knows what is happening. This stuff will keep happening because evil is a reality in the world in which we live. And sadly, some people have CHOSEN evil over good! God's Word tells us to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. He also says that this world is not our home. The enemy does all he can to take our focus off God. We must remain dependent on God in every way and focus on Him!!! God wins!!!!!! For that, I am thankful!!!!

The spirit of Thanksgiving still holds true on what ever day it is. We should always start our day thanking God and praising Him for life itself! And thanking Him for all the blessings of the day!!!! As we go from the Thanksgiving season and carrying our thankfulness over in to the Christmas season, let us remember what the Christmas season is supposed to be all about........the Birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!!! King of Kings and Lord of Lords!!!!!

The secular festivities used to mean a whole lot more to me than they do now. All the decking of the halls and silver and gold and the lights and sights to see are really beautiful, no doubt at all that it is beautiful. But, what stirs the depths of my soul is to see the beauty in the manger scene, no matter how simple it is or how large and fine it is, it stirs up Holy Spirit in me and we just have to get our worship on!!!!

A night or so after Thanksgiving I was coming home from somewhere out town, and in the front yard of a home along the street was a very simple manger scene. It had a spot light on it. It looks to be about 3 feet tall, the tallest piece and spread out over the front lawn in about 10-15 pieces and it looks to be cut from wood of some sort and spray painted white. It is such a BEAUTIFUL sight coming down the avenue!!!!! I just start praising God that someone put that out. It really stirs my soul to see it and I pray that everyone that sees it will have the same experience that I have when looking upon it. I want to get a picture of it in the dark and post it to show y'all. It is breath taking!!!!

So back in October, I went up to my mom's and went to church with her on a Sunday morning and spent the day with her. We had a terrific time. I had kinda surprised her and in reality, it was a surprise to me too. Pleasant for both of us. She had asked me to come and go to church with her, but I just hadn't been feeling up to going and didn't want to get her hopes up and then not feel like going. So, on Saturday night, I just prayed about it and left it in God's hands. If I felt like going, I would know it was what He wanted me to do. I woke up on Sunday morning, and to my joy and happiness, I felt like going. Before I headed out, I called mom and asked her what she was doing. "Getting ready for church, what are you doing?" "Me too" I said. Then I said, "With you". And she squealed with joy, and said "Really?" I said "Yes"! She was so excited and I was too after I heard her reaction.

It was hat Sunday. Now, I don't wear hats on Sunday morning, or any other time for that matter. I don't have a hat head. I have a big head and it takes a big hat to fit a big head! Seriously!!!! She said I could come on anyway and she would make me stand in a corner when we got to church. hahahaha I was heading to a corner, but both back corners was already filled with flags; the Flag of the United States in one corner and the Christian Flag in the other corner. I was saved by the flags!!!!! hahaha Well, we got someone to take our picture with our cell phones, and it didn't break either one of them. hahahaha I had changed my profile picture with that pic of me. Mom seen it and said I should have left her in it. I said "really, you wouldn't have minded". She said, "no". I asked her if I could put the pic on my blog then and said "sure". So here it is. I hope you enjoy seeing my mom and me. I love that she let me share it with y'all.

I think she really rocked her hat!!! This is NOT coming from a biased daughter at all (hehehe), but her hat was the most beautiful one there and she was the most beautiful lady there, period!!!!! She is in her very early 80's and she is an awesome lady with a ton and a half of spunk and gets around better than most 40 year olds!!!! She can out run me any day of the week. My husband always picks at her and tells her the nut doesn't fall far from the tree. hahahaha I do have to admit that she does have a little nut in her and so do I!!! Truth is truth, what can I say!!!! I am just so thankful that I get to spend time with her and that we have a great time when I do get to go visit her. We left church that Sunday and went to local restaurant in her town and as we were driving in to the parking lot, I met one of my sisters-in-law driving out of the parking lot and we waved like silly people, hahaha. So when we got parked, my brother was coming out of the restaurant, and we got to see him. (I took a pic of the both of them, but I don't have his permission to share, as I don't like people sharing pics of me without my knowledge.) But he thought mom looked really nice in her hat too.

We got back to Mom's place that afternoon and she took her hat off. She came back in the living room and I looked at her for a second. I said, "Oh no you don't, march back in there and put that hat back on!!!! I can't stand seeing your "hat hair" now!!!" We cracked up and she said "that's why I don't like wearing hats". Me too! Oh well, it was a great day with lots laughs and I do thank God for those times.

I do hope and pray that as everyone makes their plans for the Christmas season, make room to thank God every day for giving Jesus Christ to a lost, hurting and dying world. We need Jesus more today than ever before!!!!! I just pray that you will join me in praying for the planet on which we all live. It seems to be running rampant with people set on hurting, maiming, and killing others. The planet earth is covered with people that are in denial of Jesus Christ. They need our prayers. It is easy to love and pray for "good" people. It is easy to pray for the people that we love. Rubber meets the road when we pray for those that would do us harm. Rubber meets the road when we pray for the enemies of Christ! What do I mean by "rubber meets the road"? We are taught by Jesus Himself, to pray for our enemies. When we actually put that teaching into practice in our every day lives, then that is where "rubber meets the road" and sometimes it proves to be challenging, at best. We are then, living out the teaching of Christ. So, I ask you to join me in living out this teaching. Pray for those that despise and persecute you for being Christian. Pray for those that would do you harm. Pray for those that we would say don't deserve our prayers. That is true love and compassion. Father, I pray that you would help me show true love and compassion to the enemies of the Cross!

So, I do have a small craft to share with y'all today. It is finger crocheted scarves. They are made from Sashay thread/yarn, the thin kind that I got at Walmart. I seen it by accident, really!!!! But when a skein of it jumped in my buggie, (with a little coaxing from me of course, hehehe), I knew I had to do something with it. Especially since it was purple!!!!!!!! Have I ever mentioned that I love purple? Really, have I? hehehe Anyway, when I got home with this little treasure, I slipped the paper off it and opened it up to look at the pattern on the back of it and it was "finger crochet". I said, "that sounds interesting" and in about 10 minutes I had my first scarf made. As a matter of fact, I have it on in the pic of Mom and me. So, hop back up there and take a look see at how I have it on. It finished at about 15-20 feet long and you just wrap and wrap and wrap, till you get tired of wrapping and then wrap a little bit more. hahaha It had been a really big hit. I went back and got more thread about 2 or 3 times and have made 7 in all, but have given one away. I have 3 more as presents and will keep the 3 I have already worn. They are so fun and easy to make!!!!!

The first 3 from left to right are the ones I have already worn. I do love them!

These are the 3 set aside for gifts and I may have to get some more made. The blue one is shorter than the others. It is fuzzy and took up more thread per loop than the others did. It also does not have any sequins on it.

I tried to get a good close up shot of it so you maybe could see the chain stitch.

This is the close up of the blue one. It reminds me of those wolly worms you see in the fall that people use to predict how cold the winter will be. hahaha These are really simple and so fun to make and I guarantee any one you give one to will love it, (if they don't, just take it back and give them a small lump of coal. hehehe)

Well, this is it for this time. I hope y'all read or seen something here that you liked, if you did, share it with someone. Tell someone you know that there is hope for this sad and hurting world and that hope is found ONLY in Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior!!!!! Nothing less, nothing more, nothing else!!!!!

Ladybug, I can't wait till I get to see you again. Sweetpea loves you!!!!!

Remember, God loves y'all and so do I!!!! Till next time, hugs and love, Patty

Monday, October 26, 2015

Well howdy Y'all!!!! I am channeling my inner Minnie Pearl today. Such a warm and gracious southern lady. Always smiling and welcoming of those around her. Ready to put one at ease with her lovely charm and quick wit and wonderful personality. Ready to smile and laugh and say, "How-dy", with the "how" part drawn out just a bit and the "dy" part said just a bit quicker with just a little bit of a higher tone. I wish I could imitate her, I would do a video just saying her famous "how-dy". I guarantee you would love it!!!! She was a lady of grace, she knew all about the grace of God too. I said last post that we would talk about Grace this time, so here goes.

Do you think your sin is greater than God's grace? If that were true, God would not be great enough to meet your/my every need!!! If that were true, then we would be saying that "some" sin is just too big for God to handle! If that were true, then Christ would NOT be enough!

Quick definition of Grace and Mercy:
Grace-God giving us what we don't deserve; salvation-eternal life.
Mercy-God "not" giving us what we do deserve; penalty for sin-eternal death.

Romans 5:20,21But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I'm reminded of one of my all time favorite hymns at church. I went on a search for the meaning behind this song. When we can understand a bit of the history behind a great old hymn of faith, then we can understand more about what it should mean to us. A couple of sentences summed up the overall meaning behind this hymn. 1."In total this great song encourages us to remember that the main issue with the world is not economic, or political, or social – it is spiritual!" 2."You cannot out-sin God's GRACE!!!!!" Now, these here are "shoutin' words!" These are words that can stir the soul to the point of making decisions that have eternal rewards.

Read these words slowly, taking them in and pondering them very carefully.

"Grace Greater than Our Sin"

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Marvelous Amazing Grace, isn't it!!!!!!! God loved us while we were still sinners!!!! This, my friend, is Grace!!!!! Who does that???? Who looks past what the eyes can see, and looks to the depth of one's soul and sees the lost, hurting, lonely, scarred, shame filled person and says "I love you so much that I made a way for you to be in right relationship with Me"???? God does that, Jesus Christ does that!!!!! Woohoo!!!! Praises!!!! Amazing Grace, Infinite, Matchless Grace!!!!!

I'm here to tell you that NO SIN, absolutely NO SIN is too big for God! The Creator of the universe and all that lies within the scope of the universe can forgive even the most egregious sin. The death of Christ on the cross covered the penalty for every sin that has ever been or will ever be! Now.....that doesn't mean that every sin has been forgiven! Sin has to be acknowledged by the sinner and there has to be some remorse in the sinners heart and soul. We have to come to a point that we are ready to start fresh and be renewed. We have to have a renewal of the heart and mind and ask Jesus Christ to free us from the bondage of sin. If you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, then His blood is sufficient!!!! Christ is ENOUGH to cover any sin! God is enough!!!!! GRACE is enough!!!! At some point, before the end of the day (the end our lives), we just have to say, "Jesus is enough!", and mean it. God's Grace is enough!!!!

Do you believe that God's Grace is enough? Do you honestly and truly believe that God's Grace IS enough? That is a question that we all MUST answer. I can't answer it for you any more than you can answer it for me. We must know that our lives will reflect what we really do believe. I pray that y'alls lives and mine will reflect that God's Grace through Jesus Christ our Risen Savior is enough!!!!

If you haven't yet experienced the Grace of God through Jesus Christ, it's not to late. You have to recognize and confess that you are a sinner in need of cleansing. In reality, we ALL are sinners in need of Jesus!!!! You have to believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the only One that can cleanse you. You have to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life and ask Him to help you live daily through the Holy Spirit to become what He has destined you to be. Living for Christ is not easy. Jesus told His followers in Luke, that in order to follow Him, you must take up your cross daily. Most of us have no idea as to what taking up your cross daily means. It is MUCH more than a bad day at work; it is MUCH more than unruly children; it is MUCH more than being stuck in traffic; it is even MUCH more than an unwanted diagnosis from the doctor. What Jesus is talking about is this: Are you willing to live in such a way that your life brings persecution on you for being a Christian? Are you willing to die for your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you willing to have everyone in your life turn away from you because you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of your life? Those are a few examples of taking up your cross daily and following Christ. We live in a time when people are being persecuted for being Christian. Christianity is under attack and will always be under attack because it is the ONLY way to see God. I didn't say that, Jesus did. But we see persecution every time we watch the local, national, and world wide news? Why is that? All the other world religions have dead and powerless founders/leaders. People fear the cross and what the cross represents, because our Lord and Savior, JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE AND WELL!!! Look again y'all, the the tomb is EMPTY!!!! Christ IS alive!!!!! People fear what they don't know. We are told as Christians, that we must tolerate sin. We have been told that for so long that we don't even acknowledge sin anymore. We give sin creative new names that seem to take away all personal responsibility. In the end, we will still BE responsible for our sin, regardless of what we have tried to cleverly rename it. Grace can cover that!!!

The final question is this: Is God's grace, thru the cross of Christ, enough for you? Is God's grace, thru the cross of Christ, enough for me? Our lives WILL reflect our chosen answer. Choose GRACE!!!

So, last week I watched a This and That Thursday video put out by +Heather Kraafter of the +Kraaft Shaak and Kraafters Kommunity found over on Google+. She was showing how to color with the Twinkling H2o's, I think that's what they were called. I really enjoyed that 10 to 20 minutes of watching that video. I loved it so much that I wanted to do my own version with the supplies that I have. I don't have the twinks, but I do have a sparkly set of watercolors, so that's what I used. I really enjoyed this. I would suggest that you go over and find that video and watch it. Her painting is gorgeous!!!!! Looks like a postcard, not kidding!!! +Heather Kraafter painted her pic on a 6x6 inch piece of 140 pound water color paper. So, one thing leads to another, right? I done my own "thang", which we all should do. And this is what I came up with.

I call this, "The Big Winter Squash, Barley Clown"! Hahahaha......don't want to be confused with the cartoon of a rhyming nature. Anyway, as you can see for yourself, it not great at all, but I was happy as a "squirrel with a nut" when I got through with it.

Just a closeup of the "winter squash", pumpkin.

This pic really tickles me. I don't know if you can see it or not, but I see a smiling face in this one. Half way up the pic, on the left is what looks like an eye and then to the far left, just almost out of the image is what looks like a mouth coming up the big branch and then the branches look like antlers. I know, leave it to me, huh.

Then this is the bottom of the tree and grass. I used the shimmery watercolors I had and then toned that down just a bit with a regular set of kiddie Crayola water colors. Whatever works, right?

This is the big winter squash. hahaha Overall, I was satisfied with this little painting. Just freehand sketching and coloring. Don't get much "funner" than that, y'all.

Ok, so after cutting the 6x6 piece of water color paper, I was left with the rest of the sheet of a 9x12 sheet. As a crafter, I refuse to be wasteful, so..........what was I to do with the rest of the sheet. I got out one of my cutters and started cutting 3x3 pieces. With it cut into smaller "canvases", what was I gonna do with them? Hummmmm.........................this is what I done.

I took each little piece of water color paper and use my paper masking tape and taped it evenly on all sides, to my mini clipboard. That gave me the frame. I drew my little acorn and I then used my kooi noor markers and color pencils to color it. I used my clear wink of stella to put shimmer on the little swirly doodles.

Then I done a mini version of the big Barley Clown pumpkin. Considering these are cut at 3x3 and then masked off with the tape, the little images are actually about 2 inches.

This is a feather I drew and colored and it was really dark in places and I wasn't happy with it, so I used one of my white pens and put little white dots on. Now, this is where "ignorance is bliss" comes in. I used my wink of stella on the feather and it caused the white spots to bleed just enough that it toned down the really dark places on it. BINGO!!!!! It was exactly what my feather needed.

After drawing out a few, I thought of some of the smaller stamps that I have. Why not use one and see how that turns out. Well, I think that is a great way to go if you're like me and can't draw too well.

So, next I got to thinking about some of the smallish dies that I have. I took a cracker box and cut it down to about 5x5 piece of card board and centered this small oak leak on it and cut out. I taped the water color paper down and placed the cut out leaf over it and traced the image and then colored it and used my wink of stella and I think that is just the bees knees. It worked awesome.

I also cut out some acorns. I place the leaf and acorns down and traced around them and done the usual coloring them. By cutting images out of the center of a piece of chipboard/cardboard, I have 2 ways of using the image. I can lay the big piece down and use it like a stencil and trace the inside of it. Or I can take the cut out and lay it down and trace around the image.

Then I went back to drawing, and drew this ornament. I was using my kooi noor pencils and markers on this one as usual, again something happened I wasn't quit expecting. When I used the wink of stella on the upper left hand of the ornament and coloring over the little navy blue starburst, the wink of stella activated the marker and it bled just a bit, but the way I was using it and brushing downward, that blue just lightly colored the yellow making it look like a natural shadow. Again, "ignorance is bliss". Because I have no idea how one product will work or not work with another, it's just hit or miss for me and a learning process every time I play.

On this and the next two or three, they are just Christmas ornaments that I stamped and colored them the same way that I colored the others and used wink of stella to finish them off.

These have been really fun to make and I don't have but about 20 minutes each, at best in them. I am gonna make the little easel backs to put on them, maybe put some on card fronts, I don't know what all I'll do with them. But there is always something to be done with scraps.

Sure hope y'all enjoyed this and that maybe you can find inspiration to do something with some of your scraps. It's funny how you can see what someone else has done and then run with your own idea. I am sure I will be doing more of these.

I hope and pray that y'all seen something here today that you like. If you did, share it with someone. We all need to know about Grace and we all need to tap into our inner artist, which actually comes from the same God that supplies Grace.

Sweetpea loves you Ladybug!!! See you soon.

So I will leave you with one last thought this evening, God loves y'all and so do I!!! Hugs, Patty

Friday, October 23, 2015

Oh how good it feels to finally be back at it again. I have sooooo missed writing and putting my arts and crafts up to show y'all. It feels right to be here and I just hope and pray that it can continue for a while. When I'm not here, I miss y'all so much. Anyway, I have a project I want to share today. I have been waxing nostalgic and I want to share a fun memory with y'all and also a Word of Scripture. Don't quite know in what order, so here goes.

Many years ago, probably 41 or 42 years ago, my youngest brother and I was shucking corn. Although he is my youngest brother, he is still a couple of years older than me. So, I was in my early to mid teens and he was closer to mid to late teens. Anyway, a farmer that all my brothers done a lot of farm work for had gifted us with two huge grass sacks full of corn. That was a huge blessing for us. That particular day, my brother, myself, and our mom was the only ones at home. Brother and I went to the picnic table out back and I got a big dish pan from inside and we just started shucking corn. The picnic table was sitting in the spot at the back of the house where the coal pile was when I was very young. You could look on the ground and still see little tiny pieces of coal that was embedded in the ground and the grass didn't grow very well in that spot and it made it the prefect place for a picnic table.

It wasn't the most fun or glamorous job at all, but we decided we would make the best of it and get it knocked out. When we got a pan full of corn, I would run it up to the house and swap out a pan with mom and we done that for what seemed like hours. We thought we had it bad, but mom was the one that really had it bad, processing all that corn for the freezer, but she never complained and was always happy to put food in the freezer for her family. She could hear my brother and I as we talked and laughed and just shucked corn.

We decided we would make it fun. Everything always boils down to who can do something faster, doesn't it. In other words, a race. Kinda like drag racing. hahaha, yeah right. Anyway, when we got an ear shucked, we would pick a kernel of corn off and squirt it at the other one. We both had corn innards on our face, in our hair and all over our clothes. We was covered up with corn guts. So, after that went on for a while with us laughing and shucking corn and mom telling us to behave every once in a while, as we got closer to being done with shucking the corn, I decided that this time that I was gonna dodge his corn kernel. In all my laughing, I wasn't paying much attention to where I was setting at on the picnic table. I started out in the middle on one side and brother was in the middle on the other side with the pan between us. I had moved and squirmed around so much that I wasn't sitting in the middle anymore. I hadn't realized that though.

Sooooo, he shucked an ear of corn and was hurriedly picking a kernel off to shoot it at me and just about that time, I leaned backward, thinking there was some picnic table behind me to catch me, but nooooo, there wasn't! I done a fancy gymnastic flip off that picnic table but....fortunately, the ground caught me!!!!! My right wrist warped the edge of the picnic table on the way down. The right side of my face buried up in the coal grit on the ground as well as both knees and I was a fright to behold, but....I managed to dodge the corn kernel that my brother squirted at me!!!! hahaha

The side of my face all skinned up from the coal and both knees a bloody mess and a swelled up wrist. This was just a few short weeks before school started back in the fall and my wrist was sore up until about Thanksgiving of that year. I didn't want go to the Dr with it. It was black and blue for a while and I couldn't pick up a drinking glass with that hand for a long time. One of my jobs at home was to help with the dishes before and after a meal and I couldn't even pick up a dish to hold it and dry it. When school started back, I got excused from PE class until my wrist got better. It was hard to pack school books and even hold pencil to write. But, it did get better.

And this is a good and fun memory from way back when. A time when mom told us to do something and we did it, without any sassing or back talk. A time when the kids was always out back playing with something or building something. A time when mom would go to the back door and yell "dinner" and her kids would come running from every direction and be ready for a good, hot meal. These are some good, precious memories. Sure hope y'all enjoyed this and I hope that you remembered this brother! I love you and all the rest of my brothers; bruises, knots, scrapes, bumps and all!!!!! I wouldn't have wanted anyone else as my brothers, because I had the best and still consider each of you "The Best"!!!!!

I have done a bit of crafting over the past few months that I haven't been around much. My foot is finally better, Praise God!!!!! I got the boot off one month ago yesterday. I was very leery at first, if I could even walk without the boot. But I managed to take it slow and my foot got stronger every day. It actually started swelling, a LOT! That was scary, not knowing if it was normal or not, so back to the Dr I went with what looked like a watermelon around the bottom of my leg and foot. It was normal. Praises for that! I got some of those new Zip Sox compression socks. Let me tell you, those are the bees knees!!!! I wore them for less than a week, and the is swelling gone!!!! Woohoo!!! Yay!!!!! Par-tay!!!! I just have to say that God is sooooo good!!!!! Now, as of right now, I still can't run, or jump on that foot, (wouldn't be doing that even if I didn't have an issue with my foot, hehehe) or go up on tip toes to look in a tall cabinet and I have to be careful about the shoes I wear, but......I am doing what I want and need to do. I am getting out of the house, easily. I walked to the mail box yesterday, on the gravel driveway; the first time in over 6 months and I can tell you, I don't need to do that just yet. Stepping on the gravel makes my foot unsteady and puts stress on my ankle. But, I am so happy that I can do what I need to do!!!!!

While managing my foot, I did do some crafting. That always makes me feel better about life in general. It gets me closer to God in a very real way. I know there are many of you out there that know exactly what I'm talking about. So, I did take a few pics.

How many of y'all know that I love purple? Well, I make no apologies for that, I just love purple!!!!! Lydia, in the Bible, was a seller of purple fabric. Purple was an expensive color. It was also considered a sign of royalty. Since I am a daughter of the Most High God, and joint heir with Jesus Christ, that makes me royalty, thus my adoration of all things purple. I told you all that to show you this first pic.

Hahahaha......it's purple!!!!!! Oh my goodness, isn't that the coolest cast you ever seen!!!!! I loved it!!! Not the cast, but the color!!!! I rocked it too, I'm telling ya!!!! Hahahaha!!! Yes, God is good!!!!!

Ok, so I was in a tag swap with a group of ladies earlier this year and this is the tag that I made for the month of July. I think it is my favorite of all the tags I have ever made. I REALLY enjoyed making this one. Click on each pic and it should make them larger to see the detail better.

This is a huge tag and I made the envelope to put it in. You can't tell from this pic, but it is double. The images on this tag came from everyone's fav place, Pinterest. I printed them, cut them out, inked the edges and then roughed the edges up to make them look old. There is lots of different sprays and beads and baubles and all kinds of stuff on this tag.

This is a paper clip I made. The first one I ever made, as a matter of fact. So, I was thrilled to put it on this tag to keep it together. I put a bit of ribbon and a bauble that looks like the White House on it.

I used the paper clip to hold the big tag together. It worked perfectly. Now, to make more.

This is the inside. It has a little bit of everything, including the kitchen sink on it. More of the images that I distressed. There is mica flakes, beads, art sugar, liquid pearls, embossing paste, shimmer sprays.......

I love this clear blue stone over the words in the song that emphasizes God!!! I wanted to draw attention to God. Everything we do should point to God, so that is one of the ways that this piece points to God.

and I forgot to mention glitter! Ahhhh, glitter.....enough said. hahahaha

I loved the mica flakes!!!! The song looks just like it was torn from the old songbook with the ragged and stained edges.

You can see how large this tag and envelope is. It was big and I loved it!!!! The very last thing I done, and I didn't get a pic of that, was to put the tag in the envelope and tie it with ribbon and then use some of my sprays on the outside of the envelope. That just tied everything together and made it look finished.

I had a ball with this tag and one of the reasons that I did, is because of who I was making it for. +Sylvia Tabor is who got this tag and she was thrilled with it and that made it all the more sweet for me.

I made several more tags and will post pics of them soon and more of the fun stuff I have done.

I have such a long post with so many pics and stuff I wanted to share that I will wait about sharing my devotion on God's Grace. Just be thinking about Grace. What it is. How one goes about finding Grace. And, is Grace enough? Think about those things and I will share with you what God has revealed to me about His Grace.

It has been so good to sit down and chat with y'all today and share some of the fun stuff that's gone on!!!! I wish I could have a cup of coffee with each of y'all and just share. Come to think of it, I just did. Actually, a cup and a half. Now, if y'all will sip on a cup of coffee while looking over this post, then we will have had a "cuppa" together. God bless each and every one of y'all as you go thru this day. I don't know where y'all are, but here in beautiful Tennessee, it is a lovely day, and I hope it's just as lovely where ever you all are.

Ladybug, Sweetpea loves you soooo very much and can't wait till the next time we are together. God bless you!!!

If you enjoyed what you seen and read today, tell someone about it. Let them know that there is a place to come to and feel like you're home. I also would love to hear from you.

Well, the only thing left to say is this: God loves y'all and so do I!!!! hugs, Patty

Thursday, July 2, 2015

(Before y'all get into this, I want to say that part of this has been setting in draft for about 3 months or more, so, that is why it may sound a little more strange than usual. hahaha)

Good morning y'all!!!!!! Do y'all ever feel like time just flies on by, or that maybe you've just missed a week or two or even a month or two or three? Well, I don't know about y'all, but I just feel like this year is flying by!!!!!! I really do. It seems like the busier I am the faster it flies on by. But, busy is good. Busy is very good. I have gotten busy and have neglected my blog again. I really hate when that happens. I have so many projects that I want to share and just some fun stuff in the mix also. But.....I'm gonna try to share all that I can this go around and maybe get a little caught up on some of it.

These first pics are of the cards that we made in March for our Card Ministry at Church. I think they are fun and beautiful, as usual.

This goose one was a really nice masculine card. We all know how hard it is to come up with pretty masculine cards. I really love the wood grain embossing on the background and then the dots on the little green piece. This one was a fun card to make.

The kites was also a very fun card. I think most of us have memories of flying kites as kids and this one brought back memories of trying to fly kites in the woodsy area that I grew up in. I could fly a kite really good, to the top of tree, and that was where it stayed till the wind blew it down, by then, it was time for a new kite to just get blown into the tree tops, again. And to think I actually thought flying a kite was fun. hahaha So, if I tell someone to "go fly a a kite", it's with those memories that I say it. hahaha All but impossible, but, still fun to try anyway.

I really like this one also. It was a fun card. It is of the kookaburra. It's a very colorful bird and we all enjoyed coloring this one.

This next pic here is of a meal that a friend and I had here while back at Burdett's Tea Room here in town, back in February. Every table in the tea room has a hand crocheted table cloth and it is very warm and inviting. It's such a special place to catch up with a friend or meet a new friend and have a nice meal. Lots to look at while waiting for your food to arrive or to just enjoy looking afterward. This was a very delicious meal. I love to try the different scones and I usually take my scone home with me for an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. And as usual, I took my scone home. It was a strawberry and basil scone. I'm just being honest, it was not my fav part of the meal for sure. I think I got the scone that had most of the basil in it. I'm happy I at least tried it, but I won't be getting this one again. The rest of the meal was scrumptious. That is some of the best home made pimento cheese salad I have ever eaten. Delicious!!!! The broccoli salad was just divine, as was the Waldorf salad. The best part of the meal is always the friends that I dined with. That's always the best part of any meal anyway.

The funniest thing about the basil scone was when I texted my friend and told her that I did not enjoy the basil scone. She said she really enjoyed hers. (That's why I think mine was one that just had a lot of basil in it.) We started texting each other using the word "basil" as our new "it" letter word. Hahaha, go figure! You know, like..."what the basil did you say?" or, "well, that's just basil", or...."oh basil!", or "you watch out now, I'll wash your mouth out with basil." We went on all night long, or should I say, she did. My cell phone would go off and I would look at it and it would be another basil joke. I laughed all night long. She should be a comedian!!! My sweet friend, the Jesus in you has made me a better person!!!

So, now on to more beautiful and fun cards. This is a fun card. It is really sparkly and shimmery. It doesn't show up really well in the pic though. My friend that does the Card Ministry at church let me borrow her die for this and I cut several card fronts and put them aside for further use. I seen someone making a card using a used dryer sheet and I wanted to try one too. It really is a neat card.

The dryer sheet was covered with adhesive on the back to stick down to the card front. Then it was covered with really fine glitter and the excess knocked off and then the frilly card front glued down.

You can see the glittery shimmer on the card and I must say that it really is a very pretty card and I will be making more.

The final touch to the card was placing a few flat backed jewels on top of some of the little flowers on the card front. Overall, I really love this card a bunch and can't wait to make a few more of them.

I just used this card recently for a bridal shower at church and told the bride to be that is had a used dryer sheet in it and she couldn't believe it. No one could believe it was dryer sheet. It looks so nice and shimmery in person, that it's really hard to tell that it is a dryer sheet. So, now that you seen that card, the only thing left to say about that is, "Ladies, save those used dryer sheets!" You know how we can't seem to part with anything. Well, sooner or later someone will come up with a craft project or a card project using whatever it is that we have a problem tossing. That's ok. I think it's actually pretty great.

This is a cross box that I made. I got the image from the Silhouette library. I think it is gorgeous. It is on a pad of paper that is 9x12. I added some red jewels to it and then in the very middle, I had some micro beads that I put down and then used glossy accents to hold them in place and to adhere them together to make it look like one stone. I love how it turned out. It will be a fair entry.

See, this is the center of the box, and I just love it!

This is another tag that I made for a special bride, earlier in the year. I used my postage stamp die and my heart rosette die and other round rosettes to make this tag. I embossed the whole front of the card and that made it really hard for the rosettes to stick to it like they would have, had I not gotten so embossing powder happy. But I do love learning from my mistakes, though. I do love the way it turned out.

This was another happy little accident. I was gonna cut her name from vinyl and put it on the front of the envelope that I had made to put the tag in. Well, I got the letters cut, but the vinyl would NOT stick to the card stock. Go figure! So, I put them down long enough to use them as a mask, and I put color around the letters and made her name pop like that. As you can see, the envelope was purple and I used a darker purple to ink over the name, and I must say, I really LOVE how it turned out. Then I took the little flat back red stones and just scatter glued them over the envelope and finished it off with a big sheer bow. That was one of the most beautiful tags and envelope that I have made. Some of the tags I make just have more stamping on the back, others I make with the gift card sized holder on the back.

Ok, so I wanted to make some stencils. I went to Wal Mart and dug around till I found something that I thought would work. I found these plastic dividers and knew they would do what I wanted, so I got my goodies and headed home, happily. If you click on the pic, it should bring up a larger pic that will allow you to see the product and the settings I used on my Silhouette.

This is what I ended up with. And they work as well as any of the purchased stencils have. I love them. They have gotten a lot of use too. When I was making a lot of bookmarks for church, these got used and used and used and I'm always pulling them out for other stuff. I will be making more. It was easy, fun and cheap. You know I'm all over that!!!!! Lots of y'all are too. hehehe

Well, that's about it for today. This is a blog post that I have had sitting in draft form for more than 3 months, so I pulled it out and dusted it off and just added some more projects to it.

This is the Fourth of July weekend. The day set aside each year for us, in the United States of America to celebrate our freedom and all that we hold dear. Freedom is the one thing that all humans on the face of the planet desire to have. We all have that in common. Freedom is a God given desire. The Scripture tells us that God is no respecter of persons. He doesn't care if you are a head of state, a president, a pauper, or a nobody,we ALL need freedom from sin!!! The president, or head of state, or ruler is no better in God's eyes than the pauper or the prisoner. While we as humans desire freedom; and there have been hundreds of thousands of men and women over the many centuries have died for others to have freedom; true freedom comes ONLY from Christ Jesus, as Savior and Lord of our lives!!! We can be in chains and still know the freedom that Christ gives. We can be behind bars and still know the freedom that Christ gives. We can even have our lives taken from us at the hands of evil people and then be in the presence of the One and Only Freedom Giver, Jesus Christ.

Romans 14:8 says this: "for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."

This is what Paul said. He knew first hand at having his personal freedom taken from him. But he had determined in his heart, that NO MATTER WHAT, live or die, he would be living for Christ or he would die for Christ. In Philippians he said something to this effect: To live would be for Christ, to die would be gain, because he would be with Christ.

No matter what kind of bondage you are in. The bondage of sin is the one that you have the ability to change. Not in your own power and strength, but thru what Jesus Christ has already done for you. You just need to claim the victory that is yours by accepting Christ as your personal Savior. That will break the chains of bondage on your heart. That is where true freedom comes from!!!! Christ is for everyone!!!!!! He has never tuned anyone seeking Him away and He never will!!!!!!

So as we celebrate Freedom as a nation this weekend, let us also be reminded of the greater Freedom that is ours, if we have a personal relationship with Christ. If we don't already have that relationship with Him, then this is the perfect time to start your walk with Christ and walk in the Freedom that only Christ gives.

Thank you Jesus, for the the freedom that You give to all people who call on Your Name!!!! Let us remember You this weekend while we are remembering the freedom that this great nation fought so hard for. May we fight equally hard, within ourselves, for the freedom that You alone can give to those of us who desire it. I pray that You will put the desire and need, for You, into each and every heart that does not already have the freedom that You so freely give. Thank You Jesus! Amen and Amen

I hope and pray that y'all seen something here today that you liked. If you did, tell someone. Share it with others. I also love it when you leave me a note.

Ladybug, we hope to see this weekend sometime. Sweetpea loves you and looks forward to another visit real soon.

Everyone, enjoy your weekend, stay safe, and thank a Veteran or a Soldier for the freedom we enjoy as a nation. Thank Jesus for the freedom from the bondage of sin that we enjoy as Christ's Followers.

About Me

I am a Christian, first and foremost. Not perfect, by the worlds standards, by any means, just washed in the Blood of Jesus Christ!! I have been married to my wonderful husband for 38 years. I thank God for him every day of my life. I look forward to the next 38 years with my hubby! God has blessed me with some wonderful Christian ladies in my life to help me stay grounded and focused. I love them and I always enjoy spending precious time with them.

I have been crafting ever since I can remember. I learned to count with buttons from my Mom's button jar. So, I come from a long line of crafters. Back in the day, it was "making do with what you have", now we call it "crafting". ggg What ever you call it, it's fun.

I dedicate this blog to everyone, past and present, who has inspired me along the way to see the world around me a little more colorful and a lot more crafty. Create, learn, teach, inspire, share, grow, and love! May God always be our main source of inspiration and our main reason for crafting. Give God praise and glory every day for the talents you have. Always remember, God loves y'all and so do I. hugs, patty